Lifelines
by TimeTraveler008
Summary: It's been nearly six year since Himeno became the Legendary White Pretear and defeated Fenrir, and Hayate has yet to pop the ultimate question. The question is...will he get the chance? Welcome to a new installment of The Time Traveler's story-time!
1. Chapter 1

Five years. Nearly six, now that he thought about it. Had it really been that long? Hayate almost couldn't believe it. The six year anniversary of the final battle with Fenrir was in two months and nothing out of the ordinary was going on, besides the fact that Himeno was out of town for two more days. What on earth could have possessed her to agree to go on a trip to Hokkaido at this time of year? With Yayoi, of all people! Whatever the reason, her absence gave him some time to think things over. Not that he hadn't had four years to think things over.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Hayate jumped, startled by the voice of Sasame floating into his ear as though the Leafe Knight of Sound was merely inches away from him, instead of the four feet across the table.

"W-what?"

Sasame sighed gustily. "You had that face again."

Hayate stared at his friend. "What face?"

"The one that means you're thinking too much."

The stare became a glare. "And why shouldn't I think too much?"

"Don't you think you've let this go for too long? She's not going to able to wait much longer." Hayate looked away from Sasame's accusing eyes.

"She knows already."

"Yes, yes, yes, she's knows. But when are you going to ask her?"

Hayate decided to play dumb and brought his glass of lemonade to his lips. "Ask her what?"

"Look, buster, I know for a fact that you bought the ring six months ago. What the hell are you waiting for? I want nieces and nephews to spoil." The Leafe Knight of Wind choked on the tart liquid. Coughing, Hayate stared in shock at his friend, who was grinning like the cat that ate the cream. "Something wrong, Hayate?"

"Don't try to die please, Hayate. I would refuse to give you CPR and then I would get in big trouble." Goh's teasing voice trailed away from behind the now fiercely glaring Wind Knight, disappearing into the bustling café where he worked and where Hayate and Sasame were having lunch. Hayate huffed for a few minutes and then slowly his expression turned rueful.

"How did you notice?"

Sasame snorted and opened his hands wide, leaning back in his chair. "Took Takako shopping and saw you walking out of that one jeweler that specializes in rings. Wasn't that hard to leap to the obvious." The corner of Hayate's mouth hooked into a crooked grin. Sasame eyed his friend seriously. "But really, why have you waited so long to do this? There is no question of her love anymore…"

"I wanted to give her every chance."

"Every chance for what?" Sasame was not going to let his normally taciturn friend get away that easily, especially where Himeno was involved.

"Every chance to make sure she really wanted me after all."

Sasame gaped for a moment. "You… Moron! Do you really think after that whole fiasco with Fenrir that she wouldn't want you? And what about that guy she met when she was at college, Renji? She turned him down, multiple times if I heard correctly. She wants you, Hayate, and no one else."

Hayate was looking anywhere but at Sasame, though Sasame could tell he was blushing. "Just wanted to give her the choice."

Sasame blew out an exasperated breath. "Well, what's the plan?"

"Not sure. Probably ask her when she gets home."

"Just like that?" Hayate nodded once and Sasame took a deep breath. "Okay then. Good luck to you, not that I think you'll need it. I'm holding you to this, so don't let me down. She's been kept waiting far too long."

He was slightly surprised to see a soft smile on his friend's normally stoic face. It was small, but it was still a smile. "I'll do my best."

"That's the best I could ask for."

Not ten miles away, an automatic alarm unheard in more than half a decade began to blare. "…Not possible." A few seconds later, the alarm cut off.

"The hell?" Several moments of the clacking of computer keys, and the Leafe Knight of Light was even more confused than before. "Where did the Demon Larvae go?"


	2. Chapter 2

Stepping off the plane onto the Awayuki Airport tarmac was the best feeling Awayuki Himeno had had her entire trip. It turned out that Yayoi had planned this trip as a way to make Hayate jealous by making it look like Himeno was having a vacation fling with a very attractive man. Himeno put her foot down as soon as she caught Yayoi-chan cackling away about her plan in the hotel bar with a new man friend.

"Oh! Himeno! Meet my new friend, Roger! He's-"

"Oh, no. No, Yayoi! I came along with you so I could relax before the season started! So whatever you've been planning, drop it right now."

Besides averting the possible disaster, Hokkaido was beautiful as usual. She was very glad to be home though. She couldn't believe how much she had missed her hometown in only a few days. She kept finding herself wishing that Hayate was there with her, instead of the rather exuberant Yayoi. Seriously, she didn't think her friend had matured much past high school.

Reaching the bottom of the exit ramp, she looked up to see Tanaka-san standing beside the family limousine. The stubby little man stood to attention to greet her. "Welcome home, Ojou-san! I trust your flight went smoothly?"

She smiled tiredly. "As well as could be expected. Thank you so much for coming to pick us up, Tanaka-san. Though I do wonder…"

Tanaka's eyes flashed. "The head gardener was called away for a meeting. Otherwise, he would be here to pick you up." Typical, not that she should have expected anything else from her stoic knight.

"Huh. Well. That's nice to know." Her tight voice made Tanaka quaver. Noticing this, she smiled reassuring the chauffer. "It's not your fault, Tanaka-san. _Hayate-san_ is just still as dense as ever. I'll get him for it later. Now, I would like to go home, please?"

Tanaka zipped back into a salute. "Yes Ojou-san! Let me take your luggage, Ojou-san!" Himeno allowed herself to be ushered into the car with Yayoi and a few minutes later, they were flying down the highway into Awayuki Town.

Pulling into the main drive of the Awayuki Estate, she breathed a sigh of relief. God, it was nice to be home. She had spent most of the drive home deciding how to punish her wayward boyfriend. Stepping out of the car, a shout reached her ears.

"Himeno-neechan! Himeno-neechan!" Turning, she was nearly bowled over by a very enthusiastic thirteen-year-old with blonde hair.

"Hey kiddo! How's everything? Did you behave while I was gone, Shin-chan?" Her miniature greeter looked up with a grin.

"Shouldn't you be asking Mannen-niichan that?"

"Oi, oi, oi! I haven't done anything to deserve this kind of abuse!" The aforementioned Mannen had walked up behind the Leafe Knight of Plants and stood frowning. At nineteen, he now towered over Himeno, almost as tall as Sasame.

The former Pretear grinned at his glare. "Oh, really? I don't believe you."

The Leafe Knight of Ice glared for another moment then he softened, smiling warmly. "It's great to have you back, Himeno-neechan. We've all missed you a lot. Isn't that right, Hajime?"

The seventeen-year-old Leafe Knight of Water nodded and smiled as well, extending his own greetings. "How was your flight? Wouldn't you have rather been out in the wind?"

Himeno was about to reply when she felt herself go rigid as a feeling she hadn't even thought about in nearly six years overloaded her long unused senses. The redhead fell to her knees, feeling as though the air had been sucked out of her lungs. Instantly bathed in waves of cold sweat, she gasped desperately trying to calm her sudden panic. She barely heard the frightened voices of Shin and Hajime begging her to respond and Mannen sending Tanaka and Yayoi up to the house to get some help. At last, she breathed out a question. "Can't you feel it?"

"Feel what?"

"D-demon larvae." There was a collective horrified intake of breath.

"Are you sure? Absolutely positive?" Hajime sounded like he was about to break into hysterics.

"As certain as I could be…"

"Why the hell can't we sense this thing?" Mannen ground his teeth, looking in every direction as though he would see the monster right there.

"I have no clue, but the feeling is coming from over there." With a trembling hand, the red-head pointed towards the interior of the Awayuki estate. A chill that had nothing to do with the weather settled on the group. It was very easy to get lost in the sprawling grounds around the mansion, but that also meant there were many places to hide.

Mannen growled out orders. "Shin, get to the others. Tell them what's going on and get them back here ASAP."

"Hey! I'm not leaving you guys here-" Mannen cut the younger boy's indignation short.

"Shin! Now is not the time to argue. We are going after this…thing and we are going to need backup. Go!" Shin glared at his older brother, strongly reminding Himeno of Mannen at that age. After a long moment, where Himeno shuddered as the feeling grew stronger, Shin reluctantly nodded.

"Be careful."

Mannen grinned wryly. "You too, kiddo. Now, get!"

They watched as Shin shifted into battle-gear and transport away. Hajime helped Himeno to her feet, and took a deep breath addressing the Pretear. "Himeno-neechan, I know we should probably wait for the others to get here but-"

Himeno interrupted him. "No, we need to deal with this now. Pret with me, Hajime? Mannen is fine by himself." She smiled wickedly at the disgruntled Knight of Ice.

Mannen snorted, raising his hands in surrender. "Fine, fine. Gah, I forgot how nuts you get when a fight's brewing. Go ahead. I'll play wingman, just this once."

"I thought you always played wingman." Hajime's grin mirrored Himeno's, and Mannen blushed. He averted his eyes, and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Shut up."

"Not so bold now, huh? Okay, ready, Himeno?"

"Yeah, let's go." Hajime took Himeno's hand in his and they were bathed in a flash of light, as the transformation merged the two forms into one. Mannen couldn't quite push down a strange slight surge of jealousy. He didn't say anything of course, but he would deal with it later. Now was not the time. However, when the light faded, he felt his mouth drop open.

"Whoa, what the hell?"

Himeno saw his stare and looked down at herself and felt her own eyes widen. "What's with the new outfit, Hajime?" The old flowing baby-doll dress ensemble had changed into a much more utilitarian and mature flowing pants and jacket combo.

"_Don't look at me…_" Himeno sighed at the bemused voice in her head.

"Y'know what, we don't have time for this. Time to go!" Mannen had already shifted and without wasting any more time, they bounded away into the wild forest that comprised the interior of the grounds. Following Himeno's demon larvae radar, as Hajime called it, they dashed past the rose garden and the pond complex. Deeper and deeper they went, pursuing the faint traces of evil that grew stronger as they went. Himeno's urge to gag also grew stronger as they got closer. At last, the trail ended in a large clearing ringed with giant horse-chestnut trees, their leaves shriveling from the demonic aura swirling about the place. Himeno fought down the rising gorge in her throat.

"It's here."

"About time. I was beginning to wonder." A new voice caused them all to jump and spin on the spot, for it had come from behind them. There was nothing there, except…

"_Himeno, there! Behind that bush!_"

"Water Whip!" A writhing black mass shrieked and dissolved into ashes, and more were closing in. Water splashed, ice flashed, and within a couple of moments the enemy force had been dealt with, ashes drifting to the ground like black snow. Breathing heavily, the Pretear and her two knights were startled as mocking laughter and applause echoed around the clearing. Looking every which way and finally up, they stared as a man dressed in dark clothing drifted down in front of them.

Reds and blacks dominated the color scheme of his clothes, and several long daggers hung from his belt. A ragged cloak flowed from his shoulders, the color of old blood. He was pale, ghostly so when contrasted with his dark hair, with teeth like a wolf. He leered at Himeno in such a way that made the hair on the back of Mannen's neck stand straight up. The pretear could barely breathe, the aura coming from this man squeezing her diaphragm.

"Well, I was expecting a show and I got one! Excellent, most excellent."

"Who the fuck are you?" Himeno could feel the anger emanating from Mannen as she fought off the effects of the demonic vibes. The stranger's manic grin grew even wider.

"I am your new opponent."

Before Himeno could even blink, he was on them. Slicing a furrow in the ground with the daggers that had appeared in his hands, the attacker went after Mannen first, swiping and slashing at the Knight of Ice. It took all Mannen had to dodge the flashing blades. Again and again, the stranger took the offense and pushed Mannen back.

Himeno growled, still fighting the effects of the miasma, and launched into the fray. With Hajime's encouragements in her ears, she lashed at their opponent until his attention was divided. The dark man gave a mighty roar and hacked at Himeno's weapons, forcing her back as well. Mannen dashed in to give Himeno and Hajime a hand and didn't see the glowing fist until it was too late.

"Mannen!" The pretear watched in horror as her Knight was thrown nearly twenty feet in the opposite direction, right into a very solid tree. She could hear Hajime's strangled yelling in her ears but she couldn't drag her eyes away from Mannen's crumpled form. Distantly, she heard another voice, cold and vicious.

"Alone at last, yes? No, wait. I have one more to deal with."

Snapping out of her shock as Hajime screamed in warning, Himeno spun and raised a shield of water to halt the other man's charge. This new assault was so ferocious; Himeno could barely hold him off. Reduced to simply defense, she felt herself being pushed farther and farther away from the slowly stirring Mannen. She didn't dare

"_Himeno! He favors his left side! Take the shot next chance you get!"_

Himeno grunted in response, unable to spare a breath for speaking. Dodging another strike, she saw the opening and took it. For a moment, it looked like it had worked as the water whip pushed the assailant back. Then she saw his grin.

Suddenly the world spun, twisting and turning as she was hurled away. Finding herself on the ground after several seconds of darkness, she groaned. Her head was pounding, and she was pretty sure she was bleeding from several different wounds. "Hajime, you okay? Hajime?"

"_Ow. What happened?"_

She sat up gingerly, looking around quickly but her opponent was nowhere in sight. Mannen however had made it to his knees, supporting himself with the tree he had been thrown into. Blood ran in rivulets down one side of his face, and his eyes were slightly glazed. Then his eyes slid over and met with Himeno's own terrified gaze. Grunting in pain, he struggled to rise to his feet.

"Mannen, no! Don't move, you'll only make your injuries worse! Let me-" Fighting her own pain, Himeno rose to her feet but made it no further than a few feet. A shadow materialized between them, bearing a wolf's toothy smile. She saw the strike before it landed but could do nothing to stop it. A white hot spike lanced through her abdomen and the world exploded in agony. As her screams mingled with Hajime's, Himeno could distantly hear six other voices crying out. Crying her name in terror.


	3. Chapter 3

"All right, we're here. So what was so important that I had to miss picking up Himeno from the airport?" Hayate's folded arms and fierce glare meant he expected nothing short of disaster or copious bleeding, and since Kei seemed to have symptoms of neither malady, Hayate was not amused. Sitting in his office chair in his private office, Kei sighed. The blonde man knew that his news was going to throw everything out of balance and wished he didn't have to tell them this. Hayate wasn't the only one glaring at him. Goh stood off to the side, staring daggers at Kei, while Sasame leaned uneasily on Kei's desk. "Well?"

Kei sighed. Now or never. "My sensors have been picking up weird energy signatures all over Awayuki Town for three days. Usually, after about a minute, the signatures vanish without a trace."

"And?" Hayate's jaw had stiffened, his face otherwise blank. Never a good sign.

"Two hours ago, the computers told me these signatures are eerily similar to that of the Demon Larvae of Fenrir. In fact, they are exactly the same signatures as the Demon Larvae."

The moment the words left Kei's mouth, consternation planted itself firmly on the faces of all three of his fellow knights. Sasame was the first to speak, tension rolling off of his shoulders in waves.

"Why didn't you tell us this before!"

"I couldn't be certain that they were demon larvae signatures until the computer confirmed it. I did not want to cause undue alarm."

Goh cut across Kei's excuses. "Bullshit! What if someone was hurt and we weren't able to get there until it was too late?"

Kei shrugged. "Well, as far my computers can tell, nothing has happened to anyone as of yet so we may…" But before Kei could outline more of his plans, a strident alarm blared into existence from the computer sitting behind him. Kei spun in his chair, his eyes wide, taking in the information flashing across the monitor. "…It's in the Awayuki manor grounds. The back forty."

"What!" Hayate's growl was very close to Kei's ear, dark and threatening. Taking a deep breath, Kei responded slowly.

"It's in the manor grounds. You know the area, could you find that spot before…" As he spoke, the alarm faded. "Damn, it's gone. Did you happen to see the exact location?"

Hayate grimaced and turned away, going to the window to stare at the gray clouds. "No."

"Well, we could do a general search…" For the fourth time, Kei was interrupted by the sound of another knight transporting into the room. Clad in full battle garb, Shin stumbled, panting for breath.

"Finally! Thought I would never find you guys! So stupid! Trouble!" Goh rushed to the thirteen-year-olds side, supporting the younger boy by the shoulders. The other older knights quickly gathered nearby awaiting whatever news Shin brought, be it good or bad.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Deep breath, kiddo! What's wrong?"

"Trouble. Demon Larvae, at the manor. Himeno sensed it." Between breaths, Shin saw the older knights look at each other in horror. White-faced and sweating, Hayate spoke tentatively.

"Where is Himeno?"

Shin gasped out his response. "With Mannen and Hajime. Looking for the Demon Larvae. We need to hurry and find them. They said they might need backup."

Shocked into silence, Hayate stared into the distance, distantly hearing Sasame begin to take charge over the pounding of his own heart. What was going on? Why were the demon larvae back? Where the Hell was Himeno? Taking a deep, steadying breath, Hayate was about to speak when an intense burning sensation arced through his sternum. He clutched at his chest and fell to his knees, gasping for breath, unable to speak.

From somewhere in the back of his mind, unearthly voices screamed in agony, growing quickly in intensity and misery. He felt his soul taking up the howling and soon he heard four more voices join his in lamentation. Six anguished voices cried out in unison in his ears, reaching out in vain. _Himeno!_

"No!" Mannen saw the attack hit home and felt as though it was literally cutting through his own chest. With this new blast of pain, he was unsure as to how he remained conscious. Yet, he had not broken line of sight with the scene in front of him. He couldn't. His eyes were locked, unable to look away from the rapidly growing carnage.

Flash-bombs of light wavered over the connected forms of victim and attacker. In the maelstrom of escaping leafe and dark swirling energy, he could barely make out the two. But suddenly the hurricane of colliding energies began to recede, and three forms made themselves known. A sickening thud greeted his ears as a lanky figure, pale and unmoving, fell to the ground. The world froze, and Mannen didn't breathe. He couldn't breathe. All he could see was the body of Hajime, limp on the tainted ground at his attacker's feet. Something was roiling in his stomach, trying to force its way up and out. A sharp gasp, almost a scream, tantalizingly familiar, snatched his attention away from one horrifying image to another.

The attacker held Himeno by the throat, her feet dangling helplessly above the ground. Bleeding from multiple wounds and struggling weakly against the stranger, she was barely conscious. Mannen began to crawl towards the captive Pretear, shouting in a hoarse voice that did not sound like him at all. "Let her go!"

The dark man sneered at the injured knight, taunting him. "Oh, I'm sorry. I can't do that. You see, since I won this fight she is my prize."

Mannen wobbled painfully to his feet and staggered closer. "You sonuvabitch, I said let her go!"

"No can do, ice cube. However, since you seem to be so close, I'll allow her to say one last goodbye." Loosening his grip on her neck, he smiled horribly as Himeno pulled life-giving oxygen into her lungs. So soft that Mannen could barely hear it, a whisper managed to pass her lips.

"Mannen, I…I'm sorry. Hajime…" She whimpered as the hand clutching her throat tightened and Mannen felt the bottom drop out of his stomach.

"Oops. Time's up, milady."

"No! Stop! Please-don't kill her-I'll do anything!" The man's eyes grew wild with glee and his psychotic smile turned Mannen's chest colder than a glacier.

"Who said anything about killing her, my good Knight? She's to be my personal guest, for eternity."

"No!" But as Mannen leapt forward to stop the kidnapping of the Pretear, a black fog rose up engulfing Himeno and her kidnapper. As she disappeared into the darkness, Mannen locked eyes with her. Her mahogany eyes were dull with pain and fear, crystal tears leaking out from under half-closed lids as she vanished.

In his attempt to reach her, Mannen overbalanced and fell as the mist dissipated. Crashing into the ground, he sobbed in frustration as he was blinded by tears. "No, no! NO! DAMN IT, NO! HIMENO!"

This couldn't-shouldn't be happening. Impossibly burning and freezing in the same moment, Mannen felt an inhuman bellow exit his throat. Roaring to the unfeeling skies, he cursed the fates that this whole thing had happened at all. The wild yelling dissolved into soul-shattering sobs as his view fell on the pitiful form of Hajime. Shaking with the force of his emotions, the Knight of Ice made slow progress towards his other fallen comrade. At last, he made it to Hajime's unmoving body and tentatively gripped the other boy's shoulder. "Ha-Hajime, please, answer me. Come on, don't leave me here…"

His trembling increased the longer Hajime did not answer. Shock setting in, Mannen numbly gathered him into his arms and began to rock back and forth, tears streaming down his disheveled face. How had everything gone so wrong?


End file.
